Ross speaks on topics including Indonesia, Bali, Cancer and wellness. Also on social matters within our community.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Tragedy that define's political leadership

Ross B. Taylor

One of the ironical aspects of any major
tragedy is how such an event will so often define - for better or worse - a
political leader's role and standing within their community and the
world-at-large.

For John Howard it was Tampa. More recently for
our foreign minister, Julie Bishop, it was MH17 and the subsequent handling of
the dispute with Russia. And so it will be, with Indonesia's new president Joko
Widodo who, barely three months into his presidency, has been faced with the
loss of over 162 people - mostly Indonesians - in the crash of an Air Asia
aircraft last week whilst en-route to Singapore from the East Java capital of
Surabaya.

When Mr Widodo (simply and affectionately known
as ‘Jokowi’) was running for the presidency late last year, one of his strongest
policy positions was that of the need for openness in government and decisive
leadership. This was in stark contrast to the then incumbent, Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono who had developed a widely-held reputation within Indonesia for being
hesitant and a lack-lustre president.

Yet despite Jokowi’s huge popularity with the
'twitter-set' including millions of young Indonesians, his suitability for such
a demanding role as president of a sprawling nation of 240 million people was
questioned: "He is only a puppet of Mega" (referring to his party's leader and
former president Megawati Sukarnoputri), or, "He has no experience in
international affairs".

And so last week Jokowi faced his first real
test as a new president: This tragic crash of an Air Asia flight made headlines
around the world as families demanded answers and action to recover what was
left of this terrible incident.

Yet, whereas the Malaysian government's
handling of the loss of the Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight somewhere off the WA
coast was handled so ineptly, the Jokowi government has moved quickly and with
openness and clarity in dealing with this latest aircraft
tragedy.

President Widodo has co-ordinated
search-and-rescue efforts, demanded a national review of air safety regulations
and ensured relatives were kept fully informed of developments as they occurred.
He has responded to questions from the international press with transparency and
honesty. Notwithstanding the shocking impact upon the families of this loss, the
president's actions have ensured a co-ordinated and professional response to an
event that was being followed throughout the world.

Domestically,
Jokowi has no formal links with the
powerful ‘establishment’ within
Indonesia, yet he has quickly set-about reforming the country’s economy starting
with sorting-out the $20 billion a year subsidy on fuel; a sensitive issue that
his predecessor carefully avoided at great cost to his country’s
finances.

Jokowi’s
actions as president demonstrate how, when making really tough decisions, if you
have a ‘narrative’ as Paul Keating called it, and can openly and honestly tell
the people why urgent action needs to be taken, you can often get your reforms
implemented; despite having a ‘feral’ parliament that is not dis-similar to that
which confronts Australia’s PM, Tony Abbott.

Three
months for a new leader is a very short time in politics. But this gentle and
quiet man has already begun to define himself in the minds of not only
Indonesians, but also the region.

The
Air Asia tragedy has only reinforced the perception of many that Jokowi may
indeed be a leader that Indonesia needs in its ongoing transformation from a
dictatorship into a modern, stable and dynamic democracy that is home to over
180 million Muslims who generally embrace religious tolerance and a pluralistic
society.

He
is probably a president that Indonesia’s regional neighbours also need;
including Australia.